Every year it seems like there is at least one pick... some years even more... but at least one rapper where XXL finally just says "okay, you're in" after they could have or should have been on the list last year, or even the year before that.
Or a pick where they use somebody to represent a city that has a big movement at the moment and a lot of poppin' rappers - picked for more as a nod to the city itself than anything else.
This year it seems like 42 Dug fits into both of those categories.
I know Dug well just from from fukkin with Detroit and all the good music that's been coming out of there the past few years. But, I'm super embarrassed to say that I haven't heard a song by anybody else on that list, and haven't even heard of half of them. I know Shiesty has a huge buzz, but when that big song with Durk dropped, I took one look at the thumbnail for the video and figured it was going to be generic bullshyt. I've been pretty out of touch by design the last year or two, but this is the first year I can really look at this cover and admit I have no idea what's going on. I always use to cringe when these lists dropped and the high handed old heads would tout "who the fukk are these people" - but this year I feel that same way. If this list didn't come out I wouldn't have even known that Rubi Rose started making music
When did that happen?